Rubin pack off Atletico Madrid; Liverpool exit

London, Feb 23, 2013, Reuters:

Holders Atletico Madrid were sent spinning out of the Europa League by Russian outsiders Rubin Kazan on Thursday while Champions League winners Chelsea scored with almost the final kick to scrape into the last 16.

Another Russian club, Zenit St Petersburg, knocked out five-times European champions Liverpool on the away goals rule while little-known Czech side Viktoria Plzen surprisingly won their tie against Napoli who are riding high in Serie A.

Atletico slumped to a shock 2-0 home defeat by Rubin in Madrid last week and were ousted 2-1 on aggregate even though Radamel Falcao’s 84th-minute strike earned them a 1-0 win in the return match in Russia.

Rubin will meet another Spanish club, Levante, in the last 16, after the Valencia-based side won 1-0 at Olympiakos Piraeus to knock the Greeks out 4-0 on aggregate.

Champions League dropouts Chelsea, 1-0 up from the first leg, went behind in the 17th minute against Sparta Prague. Substitute Eden Hazard then came to their rescue, cutting in from the left to send a searing left-foot drive into the top corner of the net that secured Chelsea a 2-1 victory on aggregate.